In 275 AD. predatory Germanic groups passed through the Roman Empire unhindered and penetrated as far as the south of France. During their raids, villas, temples and entire cities were destroyed. They returned with hundreds of pounds of booty. It was only when they wanted to cross the Rhine again that some were stopped. Their boats leaked, their treasures disappeared to the bottom of the stream.
The Roman Empire was less peaceful than we are often inclined to think. Then from 15 BC. northern Gaul was incorporated into the Imperium Romanum, a long period of peace indeed began. But it was not continuous. Rebellions occasionally broke out, with the battle of the Batavians in 69-70 as the best-known example. More than once, foreign groups managed to cross the border and rob on a large scale. Even the coast offered no protection. Around 170, the Chatten, a Germanic tribe from Saxony and Hesse, were able to invade our regions via the North Sea.
The third century was a completely unstable period for Rome. Not only were foreigners eager to take their share of the prosperity almost everywhere at the border, but the Empire also tumbled from one crisis to another internally. Only Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211) died of natural causes during the third century; his successors died in battle or were simply killed.
Nijmegen not rebuilt
These struggles offered the Germans on the other bank of the Rhine unexpected perspectives. For decades they had cast avid glances at the luxury and prosperity of the Roman Empire, but almost always the soldiers at the Rhine frontier held them back. Now the Germans saw their chance. Several groups of mostly young men managed to slip through the guard posts. Sometimes they could go about their business undisturbed, in other cases they encountered resistance. Emperor Severus Alexander (222-235) was able to drive back many robbers and chase them as far as Germania. But there he was killed by soldiers from his own army, so that this punitive expedition also ended with a fizzle for the Germans.
With the murder of Severus, the difficulties for the Roman Empire really started. There were riots and real civil wars. Between 235 and 285 in Rome one army commander after another had himself proclaimed emperor of soldiers. Almost always such a person had to fight a battle with an opponent candidate or emperor. Almost all attention was focused on conquering and maintaining power, and not on running the country.
Borders were also neglected. Some soldiers were called away to help a candidate for emperor, others were not replaced after their resignation, for still others military discipline and conscientiousness were on the back burner.
The Germans liked to see it happen. Between 240 and 250 Frankish tribes crossed the Rhine north of Cologne in search of wealth. Especially the Roman Netherlands and Belgium had to believe it. More raids and raids took place over the next decade. In 259 Juthungen (a Germanic tribe from the Danube region) stormed into northern Italy, Alamanni plundered southern Gaul and Franks continued to scour northern Gaul.
Their raids peaked in 275. The Rhine was almost open. En masse Germans crossed the stream and spread over almost all of Gaul, as far as Aquitaine. The robbers stayed in the Empire for a whole winter. Everywhere they stole everything that had value and was not too heavy. Their preference was for jewelery and luxurious utensils made of gold, silver and bronze. After their activities, they set many a settlement, temple, villa or entire city ablaze. Sixty cities, including Trier, Reims, Metz and Paris, were razed to the ground. The old Nijmegen also shared in that fate and was barely rebuilt after that.
It was not until the spring of 276 that the Germanic robbers returned home. Their wagons were literally stacked to the top with loot. In dividing the profits, the robbers unabashedly broke silver artifacts from temples in half. Apparently they were not interested in the images of gods or art, but purely for the silver.
Treasure of over 700 kg
An exhibition at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Bonn, 'Der Barbarenschatz. Geraubt und im Rhein versunken' (the barbarian treasure, looted and sunk in the Rhine), tells the story of this turbulent period. The exhibition is based on some special archaeological discoveries made in the past forty years in the Rhine and which, after extensive restoration, can now be shown to the public.
The various Roman treasures have come to light during dredging work. Research has shown that the most important treasures date from approximately 275 AD. dated, i.e. the culmination of the raids. Everything indicates that the Germans were hardly hindered during their retreat from Aquitaine to Germania. It was not until the Rhine that some encountered opposition from Roman soldiers. Out of patriotism or, rather, to take over the spoils of the Germans, they tried to stop the returning groups. They were most vulnerable when they crossed the Rhine. Their overloaded boats or rafts were no match for the fast rowing boats of the Romans.
After such a confrontation, the Germans faced death or were sold into slavery. More than once their craft sank and their booty disappeared to the bottom of the Rhine. Sometimes the Romans were still able to fish them out, but in other cases they couldn't, for example because the water was too deep, too dark or too choppy. Then the treasure remained for centuries and was forgotten.
Only since the last century did the objects come to the fore again. The most important find was made around 1980 in Neupotz near Speyer, 100 km south of Frankfurt. Divers were able to dig up more than a thousand objects made of silver, bronze, brass, tin and iron. Together they weighed more than 700 kg.
Stronger evidence of the Germanic plundering in the Roman Empire can hardly be imagined. These and other finds have enabled historians and archaeologists to rewrite, or at least revise, the account of the turbulent third century. Moreover, because they often involved beautiful objects, the drowned treasures show once again the wealth of the Roman elite. No wonder the Germans were so keen on looting in the Roman Empire. Even a spoiled 21st century museum visitor will look at it with open mouth.